iCHAIR
The present invention is a foldable chair assembly for providing comfort to a user in outdoor environments comprising a folding chair having a frame structure defined by a pair of vertical front frame members coupled to a pair of vertical rear frame members by way of a plurality of pairs of cross frame members, a seating member extending between the pair of vertical front frame members and the pair of vertical rear frame members, a back rest, a pair of armrests, a cup holder, a plurality of foot pads, a front pocket, a side pocket, an umbrella attached to the folding chair through an umbrella loop of the back rest and an adjustable tray secured between the pair of vertical front frame members. The folding chair, the umbrella and the adjustable tray are arranged in a way to provide comfort to the user while reclining in outdoor environments.
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present embodiment relates in general to foldable chairs. More specifically, the present embodiment relates to a foldable chair assembly having an umbrella and an adjustable tray designed to hold handheld electronic devices and accessories while reclining in outdoor environments.
2. Description of the Related Art
Foldable chairs are specifically used for reclining in outdoor environments such as a beach, park etc. Several types of foldable beach chairs and lawn chairs are well-known in the art. Some of these chairs are equipped with sun shades to protect the user from sun or rain. Such sun shades are not easily adjustable which causes difficulty to the user. In addition, the chairs require too much space for storage.
Conventional foldable chairs have considerable drawbacks. For instance, an existing chair includes a seat portion, back portion and leg portions which is equipped with an adjustable sun shade attached to the back portion and a tray means secured to one of the leg portions of the chair by a mounting bracket. The sun shade and the tray of the foldable chair can be easily folded for storage purposes. While the foldable chair protects the user from sun and/or rain, the tray does not facilitate holding handheld devices in a manner similar to the present invention. Further, the chair does not provide any means for holding the accessories of the user.
A variant to this chair uses a combination umbrella and folding chair, including a chair section with a flexible and planar seat member, a flexible and planar backrest, an umbrella section and a ring-shaped cup holder. The assembly further includes a mechanism for storing and transporting the umbrella section and the chair section simultaneously. The combination provides a barrier between a user and the sun or rain while the user employs the chair in outdoor environments. However, the combination does not disclose an adjustable tray for allowing the user to place handheld electronic devices.
Another existing chair provides a folding canopy chair having a frame, a seat, a back, arm rests and an umbrella secured to the frame and is pivoted between an upright use position extending above the chair and a downward storage position adjacent the frame. The umbrella can be removably mounted on either the left or right side of the chair and provides shade from the sun for the user. A major drawback of this chair is that the umbrella cannot be separated from the chair, thereby making it difficult for storage and transport.
There are several other chairs designed to provide comfort to the users while resting in outdoor environments. Such chairs employ umbrellas to protect the user from sun and rain. Some other chairs include cup holders for beverages. However, the structure of these chairs is complex and hence cannot be easily assembled by the user. Further, such chairs do not provide chair, umbrella, tray and cup holder in a single convenient assembly.
Therefore it can be seen that there is a need for a foldable, portable chair having an adjustable tray and umbrella for placing handheld electronic devices such as laptops or tablet devices. Such a chair would include a cup holder for beverages. This needed chair would include a laptop pocket in the adjustable tray for holding handheld electronic devices. The foldable chair would also include pockets to hold the user's accessories. Such a chair would be made of a lightweight material and ultra-violet/water resistant fabric to protect the user from the sun and rain. In addition, the chair would be a simple structure, easily assembled, stored and carried by the user.
SUMMARY OF THE EMBODIMENTThe present invention is a foldable chair assembly for providing comfort to a user in outdoor environments. The foldable chair assembly comprises a folding chair defined by a frame structure having a pair of vertical front frame members coupled to a pair of vertical rear frame members by way of a plurality of pairs of cross frame members, a seating member extending between the pair of vertical front frame members and the pair of vertical rear frame members, a back rest disposed between the pair of vertical rear frame members, a pair of armrests positioned on each side of the seating member, a cup holder positioned on at least one of the pair of arm rests, a plurality of foot pads configured to couple the pair of vertical front frame members, the pair of vertical rear frame members and the plurality of pairs of cross frame members, a front pocket positioned on a lower front portion of the seating member, a side pocket positioned on a lower side portion of the seating member, an umbrella attached to the folding chair through an umbrella loop of the back rest and an adjustable tray secured between the pair of vertical front frame members. The folding chair, the umbrella and the adjustable tray are arranged in a way to provide comfort to the user while reclining in outdoor environments.
The cup holder is configured for holding beverages and each of the plurality of foot pads is configured to interconnect each of the pair of vertical front frame members, each of the pair of vertical rear frame members and each of the plurality of pairs of cross frame members. The adjustable tray includes a tray pocket for accommodating a handheld electronic device of the user and a tray cup holder for holding the beverages. The front pocket is configured to hold accessories of the user and the side pocket is also designed to hold accessories of the user. The umbrella is designed to protect the user from inclement weather and can be titled as desired by the user. The folding chair, the umbrella and the adjustable tray can be assembled to form the foldable chair assembly.
One objective of the present invention is to provide a foldable chair assembly having an umbrella and an adjustable tray designed to hold handheld electronic devices and accessories while reclining in outdoor environments.
A second objective of the present invention is to provide a foldable chair assembly that can be easily assembled by a user.
A third objective of the present invention is to provide light weight travel furniture.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide foldable chair assembly made of an ultraviolet and water resistant fabric.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide an umbrella that can protect the user from inclement weather.
Still another objective of the present invention is to provide an umbrella and an adjustable tray that can be easily tilted as desired by the user.
These and other advantages and features of the present invention are described with specificity so as to make the present invention understandable to one of ordinary skill in the art.
In the following discussion that addresses a number of embodiments and applications of the present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Various inventive features are described below that can each be used independently of one another or in combination with other features. However, any single inventive feature may not address any of the problems discussed above or only address one of the problems discussed above. Further, one or more of the problems discussed above may not be fully addressed by any of the features described below.
Referring to
The pair of left cross frame members 56 is positioned between at least one of the pair of vertical front frame members 16 and at least one of the pair of vertical rear frame members 18 and diagonally joined together by means of the pivot 60 at a central portion and terminating at the top end of the lower portion 68 of at least one of the pair of vertical front frame members 16 and at a top end of the lower portion 66 of at least one of the pair of vertical rear frame members 18. The pair of right cross frame members 58 is positioned between at least one of the pair of vertical front frame members 16 and at least one of the pair of vertical rear frame members 18. The pair of right cross frame members 58 is diagonally joined together by means of the pivot 60 at a central portion and terminates at the top end of the lower portion 68 of at least one of the vertical front frame member 16 and the top end of the lower portion 66 of at least one of the vertical rear frame member 18. The cup holder 28 is configured for holding beverages so as to allow the user to place the beverages while resting in the folding chair assembly 10. The cup holder 28 may be placed on either one or both the armrests 26. Each of the plurality of foot pads 30 is configured to interconnect each of the pair of vertical front frame members 16, each of the pair of vertical rear frame members 18 and each of the plurality of pairs of cross frame members 20. The plurality of foot pads 30 is slip resistant which helps to prevent the slipping of the folding chair 12 on any floor surface.
Turning to
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, the adjustable tray 42 may be available with or without the tray cup holder 74. In addition, the adjustable tray 42 can be used as a food tray. Moreover, the folding chair 12, the umbrella 40 and the adjustable tray 42 can be folded and conveniently carried in a bag for transport and storage. It is intended that the scope of the present invention not be limited by this detailed description, but by the claims and the equivalents to the claims appended hereto.
Claims
1. A foldable chair assembly for providing comfort to a user in outdoor environments, comprising:
- a folding chair comprising: a frame structure having a pair of vertical front frame members coupled to a pair of vertical rear frame members by way of a plurality of pairs of cross frame members, the plurality of pairs of cross frame members including a pair of front cross frame members, a pair of rear cross frame members, a pair of left cross frame members and a pair of right cross frame members; a seating member extending between the pair of vertical front frame members and the pair of vertical rear frame members; a back rest disposed between the pair of vertical rear frame members; a pair of armrests positioned on each side of the seating member, each arm rest being extended from each of the front cross frame member and terminated at each of the pair of vertical rear frame members; a cup holder positioned on at least one of the arm rests, the cup holder being configured for holding beverages; a plurality of foot pads configured to couple the pair of vertical front frame members, the pair of vertical rear frame members and the plurality of pairs of cross frame members; a front pocket positioned on a lower front portion of the seating member, the front pocket being configured to hold accessories of the user; and a side pocket positioned on a lower side portion of the seating member, the side pocket being designed to hold accessories of the user;
- an umbrella attached to the folding chair through an umbrella loop of the back rest, the umbrella having an upper pole, a middle pole, a lower pole, a covering and a base portion; and
- an adjustable tray secured between the pair of vertical front frame members, the adjustable tray configured to include a tray pocket to accommodate a handheld electronic device of the user;
- whereby the folding chair, the umbrella and the adjustable tray are arranged in a way to provide comfort to the user while reclining in outdoor environments.
2. The foldable chair assembly of claim 1 wherein each of the pair of vertical front frame members and each of the pair of vertical rear frame members has an upper portion and a lower portion.
3. The foldable chair assembly of claim 2 wherein the upper portion of each of the pair of vertical rear frame members is designed to receive and secure terminal ends of each of the pair of arm rests extended from each of the front cross frame members.
4. The foldable chair assembly of claim 2 wherein the backrest is disposed between the upper portions of the pair of vertical rear frame members.
5. The foldable chair assembly of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of foot pads is configured to interconnect each of the front frame members, each of the rear frame members and each of the plurality of pairs of cross frame members.
6. The foldable chair assembly of claim 1 wherein the folding chair, the umbrella and the adjustable tray can be easily assembled to form the foldable chair assembly.
7. The foldable chair assembly of claim 1 wherein the folding chair, the umbrella and the adjustable tray can be separately removed for transport and storage.
8. The foldable chair assembly of claim 1 wherein the handheld electronic device may be selected from a group consisting of: laptops, tablet devices, I-phones and I-pads.
9. The foldable chair assembly of claim 1 wherein the adjustable tray includes a tray cup holder for holding beverages.
10. The foldable chair assembly of claim 1 wherein the umbrella is designed to protect the user from inclement weather.
11. A foldable chair assembly for providing comfort to a user in outdoor environments, comprising:
- a folding chair comprising: a frame structure having a pair of vertical front frame members coupled to a pair of vertical rear frame members by way of a plurality of pairs of cross frame members, the pair of vertical front frame members and the pair of vertical rear frame members comprises an upper portion and a lower portion, the plurality of pairs of cross frame members comprising: a pair of front cross frame members positioned between the lower portions of the pair of vertical front frame members, the pair of front cross frame members diagonally joined together by means of a pivot at a central portion and extended upward to form a pair of armrests; a pair of rear cross frame members positioned between the lower portions of the pair of vertical rear frame members, the pair of rear cross members diagonally joined together by means of a pivot at a central portion and terminated at a top end of the lower portion of the pair of vertical rear frame members; a pair of left cross frame members positioned between at least one of the pair of vertical front frame members and at least one of the pair of vertical rear frame members, the pair of left cross frame members diagonally joined together by means of a pivot at a central portion and terminating at top ends of the lower portions of at least one of the vertical front frame members and at least one of the pair of vertical rear frame members; and a pair of right cross frame members positioned between at least one of the pair of vertical front frame members and at least one of the pair of vertical rear frame members, the pair of right cross members diagonally joined together by means of a pivot at a central portion and terminating at top ends of the lower portions of at least one of the pair of vertical front frame members and at least one of the pair of vertical rear frame members; a seating member extending between the pair of vertical front frame members and the pair of vertical rear frame members; a back rest disposed between the upper portion of the pair of vertical rear frame members, the back rest being configured to include an umbrella loop on a rear surface; a cup holder positioned on at least one of the arm rests, the cup holder being configured for holding beverages; a plurality of foot pads configured to couple the pair of front frame members, the pair of rear frame members and the plurality of pairs of cross frame members; a front pocket positioned on a lower front portion of the seating member, the front pocket being configured to hold accessories of the user; and a side pocket positioned on a lower side portion of the seating member, the side pocket being designed to hold accessories of the user;
- an umbrella attached to the folding chair through the umbrella loop of the back rest, the umbrella comprising: an upper pole having a top end and a bottom end; a covering attached to the top end of the upper pole by way of a connecting member; a middle pole having a top end and a bottom end, the top end being attached to the bottom end of the upper pole by means of an upper hinge; a lower pole having a top end and a bottom end, the top end being attached to the bottom end of the middle pole by means of a lower hinge; and a base portion attached to the bottom end of the lower pole, the base portion being secured to the central portion of the pair of rear cross members; and
- an adjustable tray secured between the pair of vertical front frame members, the adjustable tray comprising: a tray frame joined together by means of a plurality of tray joints, the tray frame being covered by means of a tray cover; a tray pocket positioned on a front surface of the tray cover, the tray pocket being designed to accommodate a handheld electronic device of the user; a tray cup holder positioned on the front surface of the tray cover, the tray cup holder being configured to hold beverages; a pair of poles positioned on a bottom portion of the adjustable tray, the pair of poles being designed to be inserted into the pair of vertical front frame members by means of a hinge; and a plurality of Velcro flaps extending from the front surface to a rear surface of the tray cover, the plurality of Velcro flaps being designed for fastening the tray cover to the tray frame;
- whereby the folding chair, the umbrella and the adjustable tray are arranged in a way to provide comfort to the user while reclining in outdoor environments.
12. The foldable chair assembly of claim 11 wherein the pair of armrests is positioned on each side of the seating member and terminated at each of the pair of vertical rear frame members.
13. The foldable chair assembly of claim 11 wherein each of the plurality of foot pads is configured to interconnect each of the front frame members, each of the rear frame members and each of the plurality of pairs of cross frame members.
14. The foldable chair assembly of claim 11 wherein the plurality of foot pads is slip resistant.
15. The foldable chair assembly of claim 11 wherein the tray cover can be removed from the tray frame by detaching the plurality of Velcro flaps.
16. The foldable chair assembly of claim 11 wherein the umbrella can be attached to the chair by securing the base portion of the umbrella to the central portion of the pair of rear cross members.
17. The foldable chair assembly of claim 11 wherein the handheld electronic device may be selected from a group consisting of: laptops, tablet devices, I-phones and I-pads.
18. The foldable chair assembly of claim 11 wherein the folding chair, the umbrella and the adjustable tray can be easily assembled to form the foldable chair assembly.
19. The foldable chair assembly of claim 11 wherein the folding chair, the umbrella and the adjustable tray can be separately removed for transport and storage.
20. The foldable chair assembly of claim 11 wherein the umbrella can be of any desired shape.
21. The foldable chair assembly of claim 11 wherein the pair of arm rests is positioned on each side of the seating member.
22. The foldable chair assembly of claim 11 wherein the foldable chair assembly is light weight.
23. The foldable chair assembly of claim 11 wherein the foldable chair assembly is made of an ultra violet and water resistant fabric.
24. A method for assembling a foldable chair assembly to be used in outdoor environments, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a folding chair to a user;
- (b) attaching an umbrella to the folding chair; and
- (c) attaching an adjustable tray to the folding chair;
25. The method of claim 24 wherein step (a) further comprises: providing the folding chair comprising:
- a frame structure having a pair of vertical front frame members coupled to a pair of vertical rear frame members by way of a plurality of pairs of cross frame members, the pair of vertical front frame members and the pair of vertical rear frame members comprises an upper portion and a lower portion, the plurality of pairs of cross frame members comprising: a pair of front cross frame members positioned between the lower portions of the pair of vertical front frame members, the pair of cross frame members diagonally joined together by means of a pivot at a central portion and extended upward to form a pair of armrests; a pair of rear cross frame members positioned between the lower portions of the pair of vertical rear frame members, the pair of rear cross members diagonally joined together by means of a pivot at a central portion and terminated at a top end of the lower portion of the pair of vertical rear frame members; a pair of left cross frame members positioned between at least one of the pair of vertical front frame members and at least one of the pair of vertical rear frame members, the pair of left cross frame members diagonally joined together by means of a pivot at a central portion and terminating at top ends of the lower portions of at least one of the vertical front frame member and at least one of the vertical rear frame member; and a pair of right cross frame members positioned between at least one of the pair of vertical front frame member and at least one of the pair of vertical rear frame members, the pair of right cross members diagonally joined together by means of a pivot at a central portion and terminating at top ends of the lower portions of at least one of the vertical front frame member and at least one of the vertical rear frame member;
- a seating member extending between the pair of vertical front frame members and the pair of vertical rear frame members;
- a back rest disposed between the upper portions of the pair of vertical rear frame members, the back rest being configured to include an umbrella loop on a rear surface;
- a cup holder positioned on at least one of the arm rests, the cup holder being configured for holding beverages;
- a plurality of foot pads configured to couple the pair of front frame members, the pair of rear frame members and the plurality of pairs of cross frame members;
- a front pocket positioned on a lower front portion of the seating member, the front pocket being configured to hold accessories of the user; and
- a side pocket positioned on a lower side portion of the seating member, the side pocket being designed to hold accessories of the user.
26. The method of claims 24 wherein step (b) further comprises:
- providing an umbrella having an upper pole, a middle pole, a lower pole, a base portion and a covering to the user;
- attaching a bottom end of the upper pole to a top end of a middle pole by means of an upper hinge;
- inserting the lower pole through an umbrella loop of the back rest;
- attaching a bottom end of the middle pole to a top end of the lower pole by means of a lower hinge;
- attaching a base portion to a bottom end of the lower pole;
- attaching a top end of an upper pole to a covering by way of a connecting member; and
- securing the base portion to the folding chair;
27. The method of claim 24 wherein step (c) further comprises:
- attaching a tray frame by means of a plurality of tray joints;
- covering the tray frame by a tray cover, the tray cover having a front surface, a rear surface, a tray cup holder and a tray pocket on the front surface;
- securing the tray cover to the tray frame by means of a plurality of Velcro flaps;
- positioning the adjustable tray between the pair of vertical front frame members;
- inserting a pair of poles positioned on a bottom portion of the adjustable tray into the pair of vertical front frame members; and
- securing the pair of poles to the pair of vertical front frame members by means of a hinge;
28. The method of claims 25, 26 wherein the base portion of the umbrella is secured to the central portion of the pair of rear cross frame members.
29. The method of claim 24 wherein the umbrella is designed to protect the user from inclement weather.
30. The method of claim 24 wherein the adjustable tray can accommodate a handheld electronic device and a beverage simultaneously.
31. The method of claim 24 wherein the adjustable tray and the umbrella can be adjusted as desired by the user.
32. The method of claim 24 wherein the folding chair, the umbrella and the adjustable tray can be separately removed from the foldable chair assembly.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 27, 2013
Publication Date: Oct 2, 2014
Patent Grant number: 9192235
Inventor: Brian Horowitz (Foothill Ranch, CA)
Application Number: 13/851,918
International Classification: A47C 4/00 (20060101);